City to start enforcing sidewalk snow ordinance on Friday

Lawrence residents who don't have their sidewalks clear of snow by Friday morning could face a fine from City Hall.

At 8 a.m. Friday, city officials said, they will start enforcing the ordinance requiring public sidewalks to be clear of snow. But officials said they also plan to be understanding in their enforcement actions.

"We understand there has been a significant snowfall in Lawrence," said Brian Jimenez, the city's code enforcement manager. "We will only cite property owners if a complaint has been made and verified by our staff, and it is clear that no reasonable attempt has been made to clear the sidewalks."

The city ordinance requires property owners to remove snow or ice from public sidewalks that go through their properties within 48 hours after the snow or ice has stopped accumulating.

Property owners in violation of the ordinance can be fined $20 plus courts costs.

Comments

The City might want to make sure their own house is in order first...
Clean off the crosswalks downtown! Last Friday I could not even cross the streets downtown without walking into traffic because the cross walks were piled up with snow.
Will the city be fining themselves?

Today when I was going back home, I turned into a road and there was a woman jogging on my side of the road. Had i just blindly went in I probably would have hit her and her dog. I look at the sidewalks and they're all clear ... can someone please answer me, why was she more apt to jog on the road instead of the clear sidewalk with her dog?

Because even if those sidewalks were clear, it's still hit-or-miss enough that it isn't worth staying on the sidewalks. On top of that, most people on corner lots are too lazy to shovel a clear path into the street at the end of their walks, where the plows have piled 2' mounds of ice.

From my understanding, it is legal to run on the edge of the street, so long as you are facing traffic. Maybe not a good idea, but people are doing the best with what they have to work with.

I had one of these a couple of years ago, running down the middle of 6th street. Got up on her and blasted the horn. The old gal about broke her neck getting out of the road. The sidewalks were clear then too.

i cleaned mine off too....the city came by and pushed the snow into my drive way...i had to shove it again because i could not get out....up on kasold they should push the snow up on the medians...thats what they are built for....stupid is as stupid does.

Lawrence ordinance for shoveling sidewalks is brought to you by a bunch of do gooders who should have kept their nose's in their own business. These could be some of the same people who don't pick up the crap their dogs put in your yard.

Why would the people who do not pick up after themselves warrant a law that requires you to clean your sidewalk? Its to be neighborly. Stop to think for a minute that the sidewalks are not to be cleared because of dog walkers like myself, which I'm sure most of you hate, it's because there are children who's parents aren't apt to make them lazy, and those kids still walk to school. Why does nobody see that this has to be the main reason we clear our walks? This tiny act keeps kids from having to walk in the street. If anything the folks who refuse to clear the walk, then bitch about having to clear the walk, are the lazy folks that do not pick up after their dogs that you are complaining about. PS your lawn looks like crap anyways quit trying. Shovel your sidewalk lazy bums.

Sorry, but I am not shoveling the 3 foot wall of snow the snowplow deposited all along my sidewalk. I'll wait for the sun. I shoveled the drive way 5 times in the last week, just to have the snowplow go through and make it impossible to get out of my driveway.Take me to court. I've got pictures. Enough already.

I grew up in "Old West Lawrence". I was told then(back in the 50's) that the sidewalk was city property. If that hold's true, then the city should shovel the sidewalks. Of course, they would have to raise the taxrs so they could hire "seasonal" workers to keep sidewalks cleaned all over town---in places where sidewalks even exist!
To those with sidewalks, SHOVEL THEM! I did when I was a child and then shoveled others that couldn't shovel their own walks and i did so not asking or getting paid for doing so.